


Punch to the Gut

by StBridget



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, M/M, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-09 21:57:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13490604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StBridget/pseuds/StBridget
Summary: Their meeting was a literal punch to the gut.  As their relationship progresses, there are punches of a more metaphorical sort.





	Punch to the Gut

**Author's Note:**

> MacGyver is property of CBS and its creators.
> 
> KTT2123 wanted an enemies to friends to lovers. Since canon's set up that way, I ran with that, so it's compliant up to the last scene. Don't know if it's what you wanted, but enjoy!

It hit them like a punch to the gut, literally.  Jack first laid eyes on Mac when the younger man was bent over Jack’s rifle.  No one, but no one touched Jack Dalton’s rifle.  So, naturally, Jack hit the kid.  Jack expected the scrawny youth to be knocked on his ass; the solider certainly didn’t expect him to fight back, let alone pin the bigger man.  Imagine Jack’s shock when he learned the kid was the new EOD tech, and Jack was responsible for babysitting him for the next 64 days.  What a way to end his army career.

Mac, for his part, wasn’t any more impressed.  As far as he was concerned, Jack was a meathead with the social skills of a rock who couldn’t even hold his own against someone smaller than him.  Mac was smug over the fact he’d managed to pin the bigger man, and there was no way he was going to let Jack forget he’d been bested by a lowly EOD tech.  At least lording it over Jack gave Mac something to look forward to.  Otherwise, the next 64 days were going to be pure hell.  Mac couldn’t wait until he was rid of his Overwatch for good.

One might think things could only go up from there, but they didn’t.  Jack frequently overrode Mac’s decisions, like when the EOD tech requested more time.  That led Mac to flout Jack’s orders, usually resulting in the soldier having to save Mac’s “skinny ass”.  Each time, Jack made sure to let Mac know just how much longer he was stuck with the tech.  That was fine with Mac—the sooner he was rid of his Overwatch, the better.

Things began to change, for Jack at least, when the soldier accidentally stepped on an IED when clearing a room.  Jack fully expected Mac to leave him behind—Jack was positive Mac couldn’t possibly disarm the bomb in literally just a minute, and he fully expected the tech to get clear.  Jack was perfectly fine with getting blown to bits as long as Mac was safe; that was Jack’s job, after all.  The soldier was just sorry he had to go out with a bang—literally—when he was so close to going home for good.

Jack didn’t expect Mac to stay and try to save him.  He was touched by the kid’s loyalty, even though he thought it was foolish since Mac almost certainly couldn’t disarm the bomb in time, and the soldier was once again mad that Mac had disobeyed his orders.  Still, Jack couldn’t deny he was grateful he hadn’t blown up with the building, and he began to respect the kid just a little more.

Mac took a little longer to warm up to Jack.  The tech saved the older man because there was no way he was going to let someone else die on his watch, but he was still upset at Jack’s carelessness, not to mention the lack of trust he showed in Mac by doubting his ability to disarm the bomb.

It wasn’t until Jack left for Texas, and Mac was sitting in the transport waiting for his new Overwatch that Mac realized he was going to miss Jack.  That was a punch to the gut.  They might not get along, but the man always had his back, and Mac had grown used to their bickering.  Somehow, it seemed less pointed and more friendly, like two people who couldn’t admit they cared for each other.  If you’d asked him 64 days before, Mac would have said it was impossible, but now Mac couldn’t imagine anyone else watching his back.

It hit Jack like a punch to the gut, too, when he went to board the plane home and realized he couldn’t leave Mac alone.  Jack was certain no one else would put up with the kid’s antics, and the soldier couldn’t bear to leave Mac with someone who didn’t appreciate him.  No, if anyone had Mac’s back, it was going to be Jack.  So, Jack did something he hadn’t even dreamed of 64 days before:  he signed up for another tour.  The look Jack got when he slid into the seat next to Mac assured the older man he had done the right thing.  Jack vowed that from that day forward he would always have Mac’s back.

That, in the words of Humphrey Bogart, was the start of a beautiful friendship.  From then on, they were inseparable, even joining DXS together—Jack still didn’t trust anyone else to have Mac’s back.  They became as close as brothers, or maybe something more.  Neither of them were going to look too closely at that—the prospect was too frightening.

It wasn’t until the Murdoc incident that Jack realized just how much Mac meant to him.  Jack was furious Mac was planning to go after Murdoc alone, but he was also terrified, not just of losing a brother, but of losing the man he couldn’t imagine living without, the man, he realized, he loved.

Jack had probably known for some time he was head over heels for Mac, but it was something he’d never let himself think about.  It wasn’t proper—Mac was so much younger, Mac had Nikki, Mac didn’t swing that way.  Even if none of those were a consideration, Jack wasn’t going to risk their partnership, their friendship, on a long shot.

Until Mac went racing into the arms of a madman.  The depth of feeling that came rushing over Jack was like having the air knocked out of him.  He couldn’t let Mac go off alone, especially not without telling the younger man how he felt.

Jack hadn’t meant to reveal so much, but the words just came pouring out.  “I love you.  It would kill me if anything happened to you.”  He was practically in tears as he stood there waiting for Mac’s response.  Frankly, he wouldn’t have been surprised if it was an actual punch to the gut.

It was certainly a figurative one for Mac.  Mac considered himself expendable and, despite what the soldier seemed to think, Jack wasn’t.  Mac wasn’t going to have his friends risk their lives for him, especially not Jack.  Mac didn’t—wouldn’t—examine his feelings so closely, but he knew he’d rather die than have Jack die for him.  Hearing Jack say those things left the younger man reeling from the blow, and his feelings could no longer be denied:  Mac loved Jack, too.

Mac didn’t know what to say.  He just stood there, staring at Jack.  Mac didn’t know how long he gaped at Jack, speechless, but it was long enough that Jack closed up and turned away.  Mac couldn’t let that happen.  “Jack, wait.”  Jack met his gaze, face still unreadable.  Mac took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts, trying to figure out how to say what was on his mind.

“I can’t let you do this.”  Jack opened his mouth to protest, but Mac held up a hand to stop him.  “I can’t let you do it because it would kill me, too, if anything happened to you.  I’d rather die than live without you.”  He took another deep breath to give him the courage to get the next words out.  “I love you, too.”

Jack had a look of disbelief on his face.  Mac opened his mouth to reassure the other man, but before he could, Jack’s lips were on his, and Jack’s tongue was taking advantage of Mac’s open mouth to invade, insistently twining with the younger man’s.

All their pent up emotion came pouring out, leaving them gasping in a different way.  They devoured each other hungrily, as if they’d never get the chance again, and, in that moment, that was a strong possibility.  The kiss went on and on, neither man willing to break it, until the need for air became too great.

They stood there panting, foreheads resting against each other.  Mac reached up and tenderly touched Jack’s cheek.  “I’m still doing this,” he said.

Jack nodded once in acquiescence.  “Then, we’re doing it together.”

Mac kissed him again, gentler but no less passionate.  “Together.”


End file.
